Description:
For more than half a century, the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) has been a central player in the secret machinery of the British Government, acting as broker between the intelligence agencies and the policy-makers. This first volume of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee draws upon a range of released and classified papers to produce the first, authoritative account of the way in which intelligence has been used to inform UK policy.
Review Quotes:
'Michael Goodman's The Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee: Volume I (Routledge) should help make up for the neglect in spy literature of the JIC. The alpha and omega of intelligence bureaucracy, it influences what spies spy on and interprets their reports for policymakers. Well written and wisely judged, this first volume takes us through the second world war to Suez.' --Alan Judd, Spectator 'Books of the Year'
'Other than providing assessments, the study also highlights the broader management functions of the committee, its role in security matters, as well as other related subjects, and role in helping develop the bourgeoning transatlantic special intelligence relationship, maintaining British influence at a time when the balance of power shifted across the Atlantic. In summary, this is an important, highly readable, account of the JIC and its impact on Britain's foreign and defence policy.'
Daniel W. B. Lomas, Journal of Intelligence History, Vol. 14, No. 2, 2015